Meditation for Studying

Clean Thinking

Meditation – Are you aware of your thoughts?

I love to meditate. I have been meditating for over a year now and I will honestly say it has changed the way I see life.

Meditation is a way of achieving a calmness of the mind. It means something different to every person and that is what makes it so wonderful. I will be the first person to admit that I tried meditation years ago and struggled with switching my mind off and think about nothing. So I gave up. I believed that meditation meant to you had to sit there and have a clear mind (whatever that means) and go into some form of zen trance.

When I decided to take it up again it was because I couldn’t concentrate, I wasn’t sleeping well, I was never able to be in the moment without my mind racing somewhere else and I just wasn’t feeling balanced.

Meditating has taught me how to declutter my thoughts so I can concentrate on what I really want to achieve without constantly being interrupted by other annoying thoughts. It has helped my sleeping patterns too. I have the skills to go back to sleep easily when I wake without jumping on the taught train that is so hard to get off at 2am.

Becoming Present

Meditation teaches you the ability to be in the now, which is something I struggled with. When people talk about feeling more balanced with meditation, this is what they are referring to. A balance between living in the now and becoming more aware of your conscious thoughts. We have over 60,000 thoughts each day and most of these are our unconscious thoughts. If your unconscious thoughts are not serving you, for example, a conditioned thought that you are unworthy because you are overweight, then the actions you take in life will always lead to results that prove this thought. Meditation helps declutter thoughts and bring awareness to the conscious mind.

This may all sound a little mumbo-jumbo but unless you have tried it – and I mean really practised meditation by adding it to your daily life for some time to allow for changes. Like anything in life worth achieving, it takes work. I don’t meditate long each day but I feel differently when I have included it in my daily ritual.

Expanding Your Awareness

Becoming more aware is the foundation for change and growth. I use to wake up and not understand why I was feeling the way I was or what my thoughts meant. Through guided meditation, I am more aware than ever before of how I am actually feeling and the thoughts behind each emotion. Being aware of this, I have the ability to focus on changing these thoughts if they are not benefiting me and influencing the way I feel every day. If I know how I want to feel and I now have the ability to create that feeling by what I am focusing on, I have opened myself up to ANY possibility I choose.

Meditation for Studying

I feel like I am constantly studying for something. I have done many online courses over the past couple of years and recently I have completed my mindset / life coaching accreditation and NLP practitioner certificate. When I am working with a new client or creating a new program to teach, I need to be able to get inside my mind and clean out all the clutter. I compare it to my desk (which can have 5 open books surrounding me at any one time and post it notes everywhere) – it’s a little messy. When I sort my desk out and place everything in piles – coaching pile, courses pile, clients piles, program piles – it’s like I know where to find the information a lot quicker. Meditation works in the same way. Check out this quick video on how you can quickly do this each time your brain needs to be cleaned up and all the rubbish cleared out.

As you can see, meditation is not difficult and you do not have to switch off and think of nothing. This may come in time and with practice but until then, take a few minutes each day and GIFT them to yourself. Find that place in your mind where you can uncover your thoughts and become more aware of the life you are living.

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13 Comments

I must be honest. I suck at meditation. I am good with my self talk, but I suck at meditation. I just can’t turn off my brain for long enough. I am a good candidate for meditation too … I’m sure it would be of immense benefit.

I’m anti meditation. I have to sit still and pretend to be a nice calm person enough at work. I get it in theory but it’s not for me. I got kicked out of a class in high school for refusing to mediate.

I’m where you used to be Natalie… struggling with switching my mind off, slowing it down and being in the ‘now’. I’m currently seeing a therapist who focusses on how we feel in our body and I find it really difficult not to talk about how I’m thinking, rather than how I ‘feel’ in my body. But I’m working on it. Slowly.

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I am proud to support beyondblue as a member of the Speakers Bureau, sharing my story to increase awareness and understanding of anxiety and depression in Australia and to reduce the associated stigma. beyondblue’s vision is for all people in Australia to achieve their best possible mental health. You can learn more about anxiety, depression and suicide prevention by visiting beyondblue’s website or contacting their Support Service. www.beyondblue.org.au / 1300 22 4636